This invention relates generally to a method and system for electronically receiving and processing dietary information from individuals. More particularly, this invention relates to a method and system for receiving dietary information over an electronic network from remote users, analyzing the nutritional composition of the dietary information, generating suggested modifications to the remote user""s diet, providing products information which can be used to improve the remote users dietary intake, and automatically notifying the remote users over the electronic network of the suggested modifications and product information.
A method of improving an individual""s health includes monitoring the nutritional intake of the individual, and the implementing corrective steps to compensate for excesses and deficiencies in the individual""s nutritional intake.
Monitoring an individual""s nutritional intake can be difficult. The food consumed by the individual must by recorded or logged. Logging an individual""s food consumption can be difficult because of the inconvenience and hassle of logging all the food the individual has consumed. Additionally, the individual may forget exactly what food he or she has consumed before having a chance to log the food. The individual may be traveling or have a job which makes it difficult to log the food the individual consumed.
Once the food consumption of an individual has been recorded, the nutritional content of the food consumed must be calculated. Calculation of the nutritional content requires estimating the nutritional content of each individual piece of food, and summing the nutritional contents of all consumed food. Estimating the nutritional content of individual types of food can be time consuming and laborious. Generally, the nutritional components (calories, vitamins, minerals, fat, protein, carbohydrates) of each food type must be obtained from a table which lists the nutritional components. The nutritional components for all the food types must be recorded, and summed to determine the dietary consumption of the individual. Typically, the individual effort required to calculate the nutritional content of the food consumed is great enough to discourage the individual from completing the calculation.
Correcting excesses and deficiencies in the individual""s dietary intake can also be difficult. After calculating the dietary intake of the individual, the calculated dietary intake must be compared with a recommended dietary intake to determine the differences between the actual and recommended dietary intakes. Generally, the actual intake will include too much of some nutritional components (for example fat and calories) and too little of other nutritional component (for example calcium and protein).
Excesses in the individual""s dietary intake can be corrected by reducing the consumption of food which provide the excess nutritional components. However, new food types must generally be introduced to the individual""s diet to eliminate deficiencies. It can be difficult for the individual to identify food types which provide the nutritional components that the individual""s diet is deficient.
It is desirable to have a nutritional planning system for conveniently receiving dietary information from individuals. The nutritional planning system should analyze the nutritional composition of the dietary information and generate suggested modifications to the remote user""s diet. The nutritional planning system should suggest products which can be used to improve the individual""s dietary intake. Finally, the nutritional planning system should automatically notify the individuals of the suggested modifications and product information.
The present invention includes a dietary planning method and system for receiving dietary information over an electronic network from remote users, analyzing t he nutritional composition of the dietary information, generating suggested modifications to the remote user""s diet, providing products information which can be used to improve the remote users dietary intake, and automatically notifying the remote users over the electronic network of the suggested modifications and product information. Additionally, the suggested products can be electronically ordered by the remote users. The invention can be used by health food companies, vitamin companies and diet supplement companies to help them reach potential customers. Once customers have been reached, the invention provides an easy method for the customers to purchase products offered by the companies.
A first embodiment of this invention includes a nutritional planning system operational on a host server connected to a computer network. The computer network provides communication between the host server and a plurality of remote individual users. The nutritional planning system includes a nutrition database, a user diet database, a recommended diet database, a nutritional analysis program and a nutritional suggestion program. The nutrition database is in communication with the host server. The nutrition database includes dietary components of a plurality of food types. The user diet database is in communication with the remote users and in communication with the host server. The user diet database receives dietary information from the remote users. The dietary information includes foods consumed by the remote users. The recommended diet database is in communication with the host server. The recommended diet database includes recommended dietary information. The nutritional analysis program and the nutritional suggestion program are operational on the host server. The nutritional analysis program determines the nutritional composition of the dietary information of the remote users by retrieving the dietary components of food types within the nutrition database which corresponds with the foods consumed by the remote users. The nutritional composition of the dietary information of the remote user is automatically communicated through the computer network to each of the remote users. The nutritional suggestion program generates suggested modifications of the remote user""s diet to improve the dietary composition of each remote user""s diet based upon the dietary information of the remote user and the recommended dietary information stored within the recommended diet database. The suggested modifications of the remote user""s diet is automatically communicated through the computer network to the remote users.
A second embodiment is similar to the first embodiment. The second embodiment further includes a product suggestion database an d a product suggestion program. The product suggestion database is in communication with the host server. The product suggestion database includes products which can be suggested to each re mote user based upon the suggested modifications of the remote users diet. The product suggestion program generates a product list that includes products within the product suggestion database which can be consumed by individual remote users to improve the dietary consumption of the remote users. The product list is automatically communicated through the computer network to the remote users.
A third embodiment is similar to the second embodiment. The third embodiment further includes a manufacturer database and a manufacturer suggestion program. The manufacturer database is in communication with the host server. The manufacturer database includes manufacturer products which are substantially similar to the products of the product list. The manufacturer suggestion program generates a manufacturer list including manufacturer products within the manufacturer database which can be consumed by individual remote users to improve the dietary consumption of the remote users. The manufacturer list is automatically communicated through the computer network to the remote users.
A fourth embodiment is similar to the third embodiment. The fourth embodiment further includes a manufacturer transaction program. The manufacturer transaction program receives money orders from remote users for manufacturer products, sends the orders to a corresponding manufacturer, and automatically sends an acknowledgment of the order to the remote user who initiated the money order.
Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the invention.